Closing Time: Kevin Kiermaier comes back smoking

I had a few chances to add Kevin Kiermarier this month, here and there, and couldn’t commit. He was coming back from a fractured hip and he wasn’t doing anything on a rehab assignment, so I thought maybe this could be a slow-developing return.

Score it Kiermaier 1, Pianow 0.

Kiermaier returned to the Rays five games ago and he’s on a tear — 10-for-21, three homers, a steal. That’s a .476 clip. Perhaps the steal was the most important thing; I wasn’t confident that part of his game would quickly return. Kiermaier merely has a .258 career average, but we add him for the power/speed combo he can provide. This year, he’s at 10 homers and 11 swipes in just 67 games.

Yahoo owners have been slow to the story; Special K is modestly owned in 18 percent of leagues. Category juice always tastes good in mid-August. Take a swig.

• For most of the year, it’s been Greg Holland’s Opus. Lately, it’s been Greg Holland’s OPS.

Holland had mow-them-down stats into into early August, with a 1.56 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. But he’s lost his way over the last six turns — four losses, 12 earned runs, three homers. Eric Hosmer’s walk-off rocket beat him Wednesday. All of a sudden, Holland’s sitting with a 3.77 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. These late losses are soul-crushing for a playoff contender.

The Rockies have given Holland a vote of confidence for now, but given the gravity of what’s at stake, it can’t be a long leash. Perhaps it’s time to look into Pat Neshek (my preference) or Jake McGee, two alternatives if Holland can’t figure things out.

Hill doesn’t always work deep in games, but he’s been remarkably consistent this year — allowing three earned runs or less in 11 straight starts. That run hashes out to a 2.38 ERA and 0.91 WHIP, making him the No. 4 fantasy SP over that period. I feel worse for Hill than I do for his smiling fantasy owners. Hill and his dazzling curveball will get tested at Arizona next week.

• My buddy Dalton Del Don covered the Rhys Hoskins story in the previous CT; we’ll just mention that things remain on course. Another homer Wednesday, and Hoskins has already crushed one Thursday, making it five straight games with a tater. Once he climbs over 50 percent ownership, we scrub him from pickup discussion; Hoskins is at 48 percent now. Last call.